This invention relates generally to a solar heated grain drying system and more particularly to a system which utilizes elongate collector pipes and a manifold to produce a supply of solar heated air.
The use of solar heat for drying grain is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,784. This patent disclosed the use of an elongated solar heating chamber consisting of a frame severed with transparent flexible film. Such a solar collector is not very strong and durable nor is the construction material readily available to the farmer.
The drying of grain by a farmer is not a year long proposition but is only done during a period of time following the harvest. It is therefore not necessary that materials used for a solar heater for grain drying be dedicated to that use all year long. In farming operations it is highly desirable that materials and machinery, not subject to continuous use, be capable of utilization for different purposes so as to decrease the overall capital investment in machinery and materials to the farmer. It is therefore particularly advantageous that the construction materials used in a grain drying solar collector be capable of preforming other functions when not required for use in the solar heater. This advantage is not available in the known prior art.